PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq was elected Speaker of the National Assembly by a wide margin in a session that saw loud and tumultuous protests by the opposition Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
Chairman Raja Pervaiz Ashraf announced the results of the secret ballot for the speaker, during which Sadiq got 199 votes out of a total of 291 votes. His opponent, Malik Aamir Dogar of SIC, got 91 votes. He further announced that one of the votes was also rejected.
After the results were announced, Ayaz Sadiq walked over to his opponent Dogar’s seat and greeted him.
The much-awaited meeting of the National Assembly to elect the Speaker and Deputy Speaker began with a slight delay on Friday morning, with the SIC continuing its vociferous protest from the previous day against alleged electoral rigging.
Earlier in the day, only a small number of newly elected MPs managed to reach the parliament building amid intermittent rain in Islamabad.
Elections to the two offices of the House of Commons will be held by secret ballot, with incumbent Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf presiding over the session on the last day in office.
PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq, who previously held the post, contested for the post of speaker against Sunni Ittehad Council’s Malik Aamir Dogar. PPP’s Ghulam Mustafa Shah and Sunni Ittehad Council’s Junaid Akbar contested for the vice-chairmanship.